The Archaeology of a Small Town - Plataiai, Greece
Plataiai, northwest of Athens, was the scene of one of the most pivotal battles in antiquity. Here, the Greek city-states defeated the remnant of the Persian King Xerxes' army in 479 B.C. Throughout the fifth and fourth centuries the town possessed high strategic value. Plataiai dominated trade routes and general lines of communication between Thebes, Athens, and the Peloponnesus. On at least three occasions the control of the town determined the outcome of major military campaigns that changed the course of Greek history. The ancient town is also associated with all the major events of the Classical Age--the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War, the Corinthian War, recurring conflict between Thebes and Athens, and finally wars waged by Philip II and Alexander the Great of Macedon. Once Plataiai became an Athenian dependency in 507 B.C., it was heavily fortified. Plataiai, along with the well-defended mountain town of Eleutherae, controlled a vast region south of Mount Kithereron. This provided Athens with a "defense in depth" in order to protect the fertile western portion of the Athenian state near the great sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis.
After an initial year of survey in 1998, excavations were undertaken between 1999-2001. The Plataiai Research Project, however, no longer emphasizes excavation, but rather geophysical prospection utilizing advanced geo-electric resistivity techniques in order to identify subsurface features at the site. Thus far, a number of structures have been detected, from large free standing buildings to areas of dense domestic habitation. Geo-physical survey has confirmed that the town was laid out in a Hippodamian plan of right angle streets and avenues which defined extensive blocks of houses as well as areas of public development. Although traditional methods of survey, especially ceramic survey, provided valuable information about density of human habitation and chronology, it adds little information about the underlying subsurface features at the site. In this manner geophysical survey methods have become powerful tools for archaelogical site assessment. Unfortunately, geo-electric mapping of a site has been under-utilized in Classical archaeology in Greece. Only three sites, including the Plataiai Research Project, have employed geophysical survey in Greece since 1996. The continued improvementin geo-electric and geomagnetic equipment have made large area surveys feasible. The cost-effectiveness of geo-electric survey was proven at Plataiai in October, 2005; making this the ideal method of sampling a site of approximately 260 acres in order to produce a high density of cultural features not visible at ground level due to approximately one meter of overlay. The results of the work have been spectacular, with the entire urban grid now defined via geo-physics. Unknown temples, and the third-largest market-place known in antiquity have been identified, along with houses, interior partition walls, waterlines, public baths, and churches including a large cathedral. The site is now considered the best surveyed site of over forty surveyed through geophysics in Greece and Bulgaria, if not the entire Mediterranean world.The Armenians of Istanbul: Church, Society, and Culture
The search for ethnic identity leads to objects that define a comprehensive material culture. In this manner material objetcs of the Armenian Orthodox Church are more than physical manifestations. They are connected to Armenian Christian doctrine, the unity of the Christian community, the Armenian people's unwavering attachment to the Divine mysteries expressed in Christ's life and finally the glorification of God. Making objects for the Church was a pious act and each item produced and donated was considered a personal statement of faith. Such objects transcended the world of physical matter. Family prestige and social standing in the community were enriched by the donation of precious objects. Contributions from one's own hand and of oneself instilled within the maker a sense of personal fulfillment and involvement in the spiritual life of the community, a deep attachement to Armenian secular and religious values, and finally adherence to Christian beliefs in an otherwise Muslim world.
The collection of objects in the Armenian Orthodox churches of Istanbul feature high levels of artistic and technical sophistication, supporting the interconnection between material culture, artisanship, and communal belief. Like many collections, the Armenian Orhtodox Church treasuries contain objects that were never meant to be displayed in a museum, appear in a book, or be part of a scholarly lecture. Their primary purpose was to serve, honor, and glorify God. Acquired over many centuries, such objects were more than thread, cloth, metal, stone, wood, and definitely more than complicated composition and elaborate iconography. They were a physical testament to religious belief that symbolized the intense spiritual conviction of the lay community.
The objects under study--those that make up a corpus of previously unstudied and unknown artifacts--are a physical reminder and tribute to a people who tenaciously maintained a national identity through the objects they produced, donated, and used in the celebration of their faith. They defined a unique style of religious art, the "Constantinople Style" that reflected the opulence and grandeur of a city many Armenians came to love as their own. Through their labor the city and the Church prospered and, in time, the community became one of the most important ethnic groups in Istanbul.
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